This Friend of Mine

Materials

None needed

Instructions

1. Name Tags: To prepare for the first day of class, make name tags for each
child to wear on class field trips. Cut out shapes in a certain theme from construction
paper and laminate them. Teddy bears are often a good four-yearold
theme. Other examples are balloons, crowns, and so on. Place a piece of
masking tape on the front of the name tag and write a child's name on each
one. Recycle the name tags each year. (Another tip: Before laminating the
name tags, put the school name, address, phone number, and teacher's name
on the back.)
2. Cubby Tags: Ideas to identify each cubby include:
* Make a large alphabet letter (use the letter of the child's first name) and
write the rest of the child's name smaller (objective: letter recognition).
* Help the children make different colored handprints and write the
child's name under or through the hand print (objective: color recognition).
* Cut out balloons from different colored construction paper and write
the child's name inside the balloon (objective: color recognition).
* Use a class theme object (for example: crown, teddy bear, clown's hat
with a colored pompom on top, and so on). Another idea: ask the children
to bring in a picture of themselves. Place the picture next to their
name tag in their cubby.
3. Daily Craft Organizers: Plan and prepare craft items and supplies a week or
two in advance. To keep everything together, make two sets of gallon size zip-
per closure plastic bags, one for each day that the class meets. On the first
set, write the day of the week on each bag using a permanent marker (for
example, "This Monday," "This Tuesday," and so on). On the second set,
write the following words: "Next Monday," "Next Tuesday," and so on.